Homemade modular light up dance floor!
Brian writes “Although we all know that DMX was totally cool in 1999, his light up dance-floor in the music video Whats My Name was out of this world. The circular dance-floor was comprised of concentric rings that lit up in a chasing pattern. Although the solution was a drastic improvement on the classic Saturday Night Fever dance-floor, it still had room for improvement. To Improve on the DMX floor, and to make it transportable and reconfigurable, it needed to be modular.” Yes folks, the age of DIY home discos…is here. Link.
This is a fantastic little kit that will let you design and construct your very own Automata. You get to explore the world of cams, shafts, and other simple mechanical linkages – something that hackers and builders today could very well benefit from! [
Ron writes “A nice method for making your own longboard skateboards, and sliding gloves, etc. Very detailed instructions.” He’s right, I went through the pages and there are hundreds of pages on every type of build, from basic to building a press. 
Excellent tale from the “Make” – If the field wasn’t so remote, Waldo County residents would have been treated to an unusual sight in September: Blueberry rakers merrily pedaling old bicycles that powered even-older machines used to clean the fruit. Like many good ideas, Shana Hanson’s bicycle-powered blueberry winnowers had their roots in calamity… Hanson borrowed two bicycles that were already mounted on homemade wooden frames. She removed the tires from the back wheels, and covered the inside of the rims with duct tape. Then she attached drive belts that linked the wheels to pulleys on the winnowers. It was an instant success. 
Tobias writes “How fix a Krups Aroma Control Type 197 to make better coffee (and fix the easy to break strainer)”. After Josh sent an email for support (with no response) he took matters in to his own hands, and used a paperclip, MacGyver style, to fix his coffee-maker. 
I’ve pointed folks at the Linsay books as a great resource for a long time “Books for curious people – Highest quality books, new and old, for experimenters, inventors, tinkerers, mad scientists, and a very few normal people…” A Maker writes “The books cover the spectrum of DIY- machining, mechanics, electronics, wood working, cooking, and everything in between. The books range from excerpts of old technical manuals to new publications. There’s even a big mention of Make Magazine in there!” [
